


Incorrigible Spoilsports

by Abi_Faye



Category: The Chronicles
Genre: Court Era, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-04-29
Updated: 2013-04-29
Packaged: 2017-12-09 21:48:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/778345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Abi_Faye/pseuds/Abi_Faye
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>you're doing it wrong, you know.</p><p>(am i? should i aim at you instead?)</p><p>{*}<br/>a collection of every mitchell & leah flashback, and moment in book one.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Incorrigible Spoilsports

### faye, england: november, 1885

**Mitchell:** *he exhales as he looks around, incredibly bored with the market today, and still rather upset that his parents didn’t let him go the folk festival a few days past. Looking around and seeing his father busy with some merchant, he leaves his father behind. He wanders off, hands in his pockets when he spots a squirrel and out of boredom and curiosity attempts to catch it- he runs after it, following it until it goes up a tress and then takes a step back, looking up the tree before he begins to climb it. As he reaches a sturdy branch, he sits on it, now completely forgetting the squirrel as he looks around at the new view, quite entertained only to be distracted once again as he hears the whizz of an arrow hitting a trunk. He lays on the branch, looking down to see a girl shooting arrows on the ground, a couple of trees away from him* You’re doing it wrong, you know.  
  
 **Leah:** *she had darted away that morning, rather delighted to discover that the servants seemed to have found something new to gossip about besides her mother—though what they could possibly think george had done this time she had no idea and quite frankly, it was ridiculous and she rather wished they’d stop. pulling the bow up and cocking one eye shut to aim with a little determined expression,  she’s stretching the string back when she hears someone speak, bristling at the accusation. and immediately spins, still holding the bow up and now pointing it at him, her brow furrows when she sees the boy, and calls in surprise, not relaxing the bow string* Am I? Should I aim at you instead?  
  
 **Mitchell:** *blinks repeatedly as the bow and arrow are aimed at him now, but then grins* Sure! *rests his head on his hands as he’s balancing on the branch* You’re not particularly good, so the odds favor me. *stilll grinning, rather pleased that he’s found someone to play with* Or, you could save an arrow and listen to my advice. Just a suggestion. *shrugs, before he sits on the branch again, turning around and falling backwards to swing with his legs and still look at her, though now upside down* It’s new, isn’t it?  
  
 **Leah: *** her nose wrinkles and lip twitches, and she goes to aim again, about to release it when she exhales and says frustrated* …You’re just lucky I’m not supposed to aim at people. *startles a bit as he swings upside down and then her lips flick; eyes darting up and down the tree as she immediately wonders what that view would be like and wants to try herself and she finally lowers the bow, still saying tersely* So what if it is?   
  
 **Mitchell:**  *almost a bit disappointed that she didn’t shoot the arrow, if only because he wanted to be proved right but he grins widely again as she lowers the bow* Nothing, it just looks new. My dad made me a bow himself, but it never looked that shiny. I did catch a rabbit with it though! We had it for dinner that night in a stew *beams, a bit smug, apparently proud of himself but then shrugs, finding the movement a bit odd as he hangs from the branch* In any case, it’s not the bow’s fault, it’s yours. You aren’t following through. You’re supposed to keep still until the arrow hits the target, otherwise the arrow follows the movement of the bow.   
  
 **Leah:** *sarcastically* Impressive. Did it hop up and ask you to shoot it? *exhales, the bow now hanging by her side as she takes a few steps closer to the tree, her hand going up to rest on the side of it as she listens, lips pursed* I know that, I’m trying. The string’s snapping back too fast and it shakes my arm. *exhales* …what’s your name, you who apparently knows so much, anyways?  
  
 **Mitchell:**  Right after it sang me a song about how it would be preferred to be eaten, yes. *nods once* It’s why he wasn’t fried, I respected his last wishes. *grins with amusement, watching her get closer to the tree, having to swing back a bit to see her more and then decides he’s getting too big of a headache and swing back up to sit on it* Mitchell Stone. And yours, you who apparently don’t know how to laugh?  
  
 **Leah:**  How noble of you. *exhales and shakes her head, amused rather in spite of herself and only purses her lips further at his remark and she says—very primly* I do know how to laugh, when something is actually amusing, At the moment, I should have to laugh at you, which I have been told is not polite. *lips twitch* Leah Weston. *excitedly, also in spite of herself* Stone? Like Rowland?   
  
 **Mitchell:**  I try. *grin flicks before he shrugs* Then laugh at me, because being polite is no fun. And having fun is what it’s all about! *grins only to blink in surprise and then nod repeatedly* Yeah! He’s my brother. How do you know him? I haven’t seen you around here before, are you new?   
  
 **Leah:** Yes but—*her lips twitch*—you have been laughing at me and that is not amusing. *blinks in surprise* Your brother? Oh. *tilts head, contemplating, as she’s rather startled he’d never heard her last name and deciding she rather doesn’t—and would hate it, if he suddenly was to act differently because of her title she shakes her head saying instead* I know him at the manor. I just got away is all.   
  
 **Mitchell:**  I haven’t laughed once, actually. And I would never laugh at your face, I’m not that rude. Just rude enough. *shrugs, grinning* Why is it so surprising? We can’t all have big ears and impressive vocabulary. *teasing and then blinks in surprise as she says she lives at the manor* You’re a lady?…Well I suppose little lady would be more appropriate here. *tilts his head* You don’t look like you’re rich, apart from the bow anyways…but I just thought you had nicked it or something.  
  
 **Leah:** *lips twitch* …well your ears are too small. *snaps in aggravation* I’m not a lady. *as if to illustrate her point she promptly gets a hand around the branch, resting her bow across her back and swings herself up to stand on the branch, hands now going over her head to grab the next branch and continues climbing, hanging off of it for a moment, grinning as she looks upwards, and then hoists herself up that branch too and lays down on it and rests her head on her hands to look back down at him, now grinning* And the bow was a gift.   
  
 **Mitchell:** I make up for it with a big mouth. *lips twitch and then brings his hand up in defense as she snaps at him* I didn’t mean to offend…this time. *watches her climb up  the branches and then past his own to one higher up, and then his lips twitch* I knew it was bothering you to be looked down on. *still in the same joking grin, he stands up his branch and balances moving further away from the trunk to the thinner part of the branch as he wants to see if he can do it* Neat! My bow was a gift too, though that was last year. This year I got socks *exhales* Mum says it’ll be a difficult winter. *wavers a bit before catching himself, grinning and then looking up* So what are you doing over here if you live at the manor?  
  
 **Leah: *** with the tiniest bit of an apologetic tone* Sorry. …I hate when people call me that. *exhales watching him and says pointedly with a head tilt* If you fall and I laugh at you, you only have yourself to blame. *brows furrow as she listens, jaw dropping a bit and says with full evidence of how un-informed she is* Socks? For Christmas? Well that’s boring. Meh. And winters fun. *she pauses* Well, snow is fun. *blinks and looks back down with a tiny exhale* Avoiding it. People are mad at my friend. Again. I don’t get it.  
  
 **Mitchell:** I hate when people call me a divvy, so I guess I understand. *grins* Maybe now I’ll fall just so you can laugh, you look like you need it. *shrugs* Well, we usually get clothing, except me, I get the things that don’t fit my brothers anymore. *frowns* Winter’s cold. It’s really irritating when you’re trying to go to sleep, and Rowland isn’t around to…*pauses, catching himself from saying the secret and then continues* to help. He’s good with fire…*looks up at her as she looks down* My dad says if someone’s mad at you, it means you’re doing something right. *grins* Someone’s always mad at me, so see, I have to be perfect. *shrugs* Oi, do you mind if I come up there? *jumps to hang off her branch, swinging to and fro* It hurts my neck to look up.  
  
 **Leah:** Oh, now I definitely know what I’m calling you. *purses her lips and says with a tiny scowl* Please do. Better yet, I’ll push you. I can certainly aim from here. *brows furrowing as she looks at him and she grins slowly* Defeated by the cold? Posh. It’s not that bad. *blinks* …Rowland is good at helping. *nods and then sits up straighter, at the remark* …well, maybe, but he’s done nothing wrong. *she exhales* Don’t you think if someone’s hurt and you can help them you should? I don’t get why that’s bad. *leans over as he hangs off her branch, eyes on his fingers as she rather contemplates stepping on them and then shrugs instead* Sure. If you think you can manage.  
  
 **Mitchell:**  That would be a low blow. Not to mention you would be using information I gave you against me. Are you sureeee you’re not a lady? *grins* If you push me, I’m taking you down with me, fair warning. I’m not nobility, I don’t have to be niceee…*frowns even more, being a little insulted* I’m sure it’s not that bad with your fancy coats, and fires that can last a whole night, and pillows and blankets up there in the manor. *hmphs but he’s back in a lighter mood quick enough* It isn’t bad…it’s the right thing to do. It’s why I told you what you were doing wrong. *cheeky grin and then contemplates, knowing it would be too easy to swing his legs up from the side and pull himself up that way. Then he starts swinging harder and harder, until he’s all but flipping over the branch and then slides his hands so he grab the wood and pull himself on it, his stomach colliding with the branch as he lets out a small ‘oomph’, bringing one leg over the side of the branch so he could sit up and then grins, letting his arms out* Ta-da!  
  
 **Leah:**  In my experience being nobility doesn’t have a thing to do with being nice. Now if you want to talk about lying, they’re great at that. And talking about each other. They like doing that too. *her brows furrow as she listens and her bottom lip quivers a second* Are you saying I’m spoiled? *hmphs, annoyed* You don’t know what you’re talking about. *she falters a moment later, wrong footed still, and then says pointedly* …and just ask Rowland to please get the fire then. If he’s so good with them. *she blinks as he swings, impressed in spite of herself and winds up grinning at the ta-da and laughs just once under her breath* …nice, definitely.  
  
 **Mitchell:** Well, I just meant that lords are suppose to be nice and respect the ladies, right? Well, I’m no lord…but you keep insisting that you aren’t a lady, so. *shrugs* I’m saying you’re lucky you don’t have to worry about freezing to death. *purses his lips, eyebrows rising* And exactly how do you expect him to do that when he’s too busy keeping all of *your* fires warm most nights? *shrugs but then adds brighter* But I heard he got promoted! And doesn’t have to walk around and do other people’s chores. *nods once, pleased and then grins as she laughs* So you do laugh! *claps his hands together once* Wonderful, you’re human!  
  
 **Leah:**  I wouldn’t go around broadcasting that you don’t respect ladies. Terribly barbaric really. *lips purse with the rest—coloring slightly and aggravated because of it, as she had never thought of it that way and she nods, happier, decidedly* My uncle likes him, of course he got promoted. *lips twitch at the remark and she shakes her head again* My mother will be delighted to hear that as well. You on the other hand, must be some kind of monkey.   
  
 **Mitchell:**  *blinks, realizing what he had implied* Well, I didn’t mean to say I disrespect them…my sisters would pull off my ears. *rubs his ear just thinking of it and then chuckles* Rowland’s likable, that’s his thing. Us Stones, we all have our things. *looks at his hands, having been scraped by the rough bark of the tree and then just shrugs, thinking he’ll just wrap them in some cloth later* Being a monkey would be cool! I’d be able to climb up trees without needing a branch! I could probably catch a squirrel too…*looks around* I wonder where that squirrel got to…*shrugs and then turns back to Leah* What animal would you be?  
  
 **Leah:**  I think I’d like your sisters. *lips twitching and then her brows furrow, saying lightly* And your thing is what? Being extremely irritating—sorry ‘perfect’? *swiveling around the other way now and dangling her feet off the branch, contemplating if she could jump to the ground from there -_- and then starts grinning as he keeps talking and looks up, tilting her head as she thinks and then says decidedly* A cat. They’re quick, and you never suspect them, but they have claws. *brow wiggling as she adds teasingly* A black cat.   
  
 **Mitchell:**  *grins and shrugs* I haven’t found it yet. I’ll let you know though! *lips flicking as he hears her answers and then laughs once* A black one, so what, you can walk around giving people bad luck? Aren’t you already scary enough as it is for a girl? *grins* I’ve always liked cats though, my brother Russell says they’re tricky little blighters that are too smart for their own good but…Russell thinks everything is a tricky little blighter. *laughs once*  
  
 **Leah:**  *grin flicks* Oh I’m holding my breath. *leans way back in the tree, feeling antsy just sitting still and starts swinging her legs faster grinning wider and continuing decidedly* Yes. *blinks* And what do you mean for a girl? *arms come up and folds on her chest and then nods a few times, still grinning* Just because he says it about you doesn’t mean he thinks it about everything. …but that’s me. Too smart for my own good. Least that’s what everyone tells me.   
  
 **Mitchell:**  *lips flick and then shrugs* I dunno, I just haven’t really come across any girls I would use scary to describe, aside from my mum. But you *nodding* you’re scary. And not because you had a bow and arrow pointed at my face. *grins before laughing in delight at the comment, shaking his finger at her* Alright, that was a good one, I’ll give you that. *grins* But no, he literally says that about everything. *adopts a lower, gruffer voice* ‘That damn man at the factory! Tricky little blighter.’ or ‘Bloody merchant thinks he could fool me? They think they’re just the trickiest little blighters, aren’t they?’ *laughs, shaking his head* Better too smart than too dumb though. Dumb people get in the way.  
  
 **Leah:**  *arching an eyebrow and asks amusedly* Are you comparing me to your mother? *grins in delight at the compliment and nods, bemused, brow wiggling a bit* Oh will you? Give me it? *listens with the tiniest laugh and then shakes her head saying with a grin* Well he sounds like an interesting person. *nods in agreement* That’s what I think too. And what my Aunt Abira says actually. Though she doesn’t put it quite so colloquially.   
  
 **Mitchell:** Guess I am, and that, is a compliment. Now if I were to compare you to my sister Esther *rolls his eyes* She’s a pain. *grinning afterwards as he nods once, pleased, as he seems to think his older brother, all of them actually, are the best* Colloquially. Big word there *teasing* An instant way to separate yourself from everyone else down here. Keep that in mind next time you run away from home.  
  
 **Leah:**  *lips twitch* In that case thank you. I think. *pauses and then flustered a moment and she leans down and swings herself onto the other branch, not wanting to be still any longer and then rolls her eyes, amused* I said I was too smart. *blinks once as she lands back on the ground now without a scratch, wiping her hands off on her shirt, which already have rather significant stains in them and then looks back up saying after a moment* And everyone else? I’m not any different. Just cause my uncle’s Lord doesn’t mean I have to be separate. Not if I don’t want to be. *nodnod*  
  
 **Mitchell:**  You’re welcome. I know. *grins and shrugs, watching her move down the branches in amusement and then laughs once* You’re different. The fact that you say you’re not different makes you different. *shrugs and then looks down, grinning and then pushes off the branch, laughing a bit in the air as he’s falling and then lands, rolling on the ground as the branch ended up being a bit higher than he thought, though he just keeps laughing from the ground* I think I prefer the view from up there…although. *lays his head on his arms, looking up at the trees* It’s not all bad. *looks back to her* You goin’ to keep practicing, yeah? You should, that way you’ll actually be able to hit a moving target one day.  
  
 **Leah** : *her brows furrow as she considers that and then shakes her head a moment, tucking hair behind her ears and she says in a bit of a mutter* …well, who wants to be the same as everyone else anyways? *turns to get her bow and picks up her ream of practice arrows again as he jumps and then she blinks, lips twitching and she shakes her head in delight as he rolls, laughing once and then exhales frustrated and nods* Well fine, you can show me how it’s done one day. Be warned, then I will have to challenge you to a duel. *pauses-then-adds-quickly* Of swords, I mean. *swallows* Right now, I have to go. ..make sure they don’t find me.  
  
 **Mitchell:**  *laughs in delight, standing up in a bounce and then nodding* Sounds fun! *grinning* Of course swords, what else could you mean? *lips twitch, amused with his own little secret and then nods* Yeah, I should probably get back to my dad. At this rate, he’ll be hitting me over the head with the pumpkins. *grins* See you whenever, then! *holds out his hand* …you shake it. I’m not about to bow, or anything.  
  
 **Leah:**  Really? *delighted* Great. Just don’t cry when I win, I hate that. *swallows, nodding once and says quietly in a bit of a different voice* ..you’d best get back to your father then. *her expression clears and then she’s bristling slightly at the remark and decidedly takes his hand shaking it .. ridiculously hard and shakes her head saying firmly* Good, because I won’t be curtsying.   
  
 **Mitchell:**  *laughs* I won’t cry, I’m made of tough stuff. *grins as he nods though the grin flickers a bit as her tone becomes quieter but doesn’t pay it any mind as he extends his hand and then grins in amusement as she grips it and shakes it hard, doing the same* Of course not, only ladies do that, we’ve established you’re not one. *lets go of her hand* Bye Leah! *running off before he turns around, now running backwards to tell her* Remember- follow through! *waving her goodbye before turning around again and running towards the market*


End file.
